I was really enjoying this tempestuous whingey display from Barca.
Then Messi scored goal #500.
Damn.
I was really enjoying this tempestuous whingey display from Barca.
Then Messi scored goal #500.
Damn.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
What are the respective head-to-head results in the matches between the top 3 teams?
Barca > Atletico > Real
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona
Barcelona 2-1 Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona
Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid 1-1 Real Madrid
Real Madrid 0-1 Atletico Madrid
Barcelona ended their slump in style with an 8-0 win away to Deportivo, Suarez helped himself to four. Atletico beat Athletic 1-0 away with a Torres goal. Benzema has just scored to give Real the lead near half time against Villarreal.
The last day was a bit tame at the top in the best league in the world and the toughest league title to win.
Even if the margins were slender, (as they say) the league placings do not lie and Barca the frontrunners virtually from day one, held on to their lead comfortably in the last game.
Late drama for Athletic Bilbao to leapfrogged over a flagging Celta de Vigo to nab a CL qualifier spot
Sevilla finish 12 points behind Villarreal, it should be a piece of cake for Liverpool to beat them in the EL final
It was a gallant attempt by Zizou to repair the Benitez damage but the loss of 17 points in Rafa's 18 games in charge was marginally too much to recover from in the end. Some difference between their records:
P W D L F A GD Pts Pts dropped Benitez 18 11 4 3 47 18 +27 37 -17 Zidane 20 17 2 1 63 16 +47 53 -7
Pretty cool picture from The Examiner.
Some welcome respite for a stuttering Real Madrid this weekend as Barcelona lost 2-1 at La Coruna.
Sergio Ramos the hero of the hour yet again when he headed Real's winner against Betis in the final ten minutes.
I saw this article on Danny's link to the website featuring Stephen Elliott's column about Roy Keane cancelling Sunderland's open top bus celebrations.
https://www.sportdec.com/app/article...u1mrc0dmlwczdi
Make that 19 out of 22. Amazing stuff really.Since that final [Champions League 2014 when Ramos headed a 94th minute equaliser] Ramos has scored another 21 goals for his club, with an amazing 18 of those coming from moments when Madrid were either drawing or behind. Ramos’s ability to get goals is one thing, but his instinct to get them when the team most needs them is perhaps his greatest attribute as a captain.
LL proving to being the best and most fascinating league going. That was an el clasico to match the best of them and that was even before the last gasp winner. Messi's shirt tribute after scoring the winner has to be in the hall of fame tributes to a club and it's fans, considering the adrenaline affected moment that was in it. I think we can safely say that Mourinho polluted that league while he was there.
Definitely a game that should add to Messi's legacy, if that's even possible. After seemingly getting a couple of teeth knocked out or at least a bad blow to the mouth, albeit accidentally, and my main man Ramos trying to break him in two, it must have been some feeling to bury that at the end.
Both teams attack minded to a fault, Barca should never have let Real back in at 2-1 with an extra man but they continued to pour forward and leave gaps. Similarly Madrid should have tried to shut up shop at 2-2 but they left themselves exposed to the sucker blow as well. Bale injured yet again and a (3 game?) suspension for Ramos so a damaging night all round. They'll need to get back on track straight away midweek at La Coruna.
Other than the occasional misdemeanour on the sideline, how did Mourinho pollute the league exactly?
Last edited by DeLorean; 24/04/2017 at 9:20 AM.
Geysir has always had it out for Jose in fairness. Nothing tosee here.
I think Barca and their doctors pollute the league more tbh. (That's not to say Real and and Atleti are angels either)
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
You mean you do like Jose.and always have?
That's a Damascene conversion to match Herr Dunphy.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
In that case, my question remains, how did Mourinho pollute the league? Has he polluted all the other leagues he's managed in or was it just La Liga? You wouldn't be alone in thinking he pollutes football in general but I'm just curious.
I'm not sure how an El Clasico cracker four years after he departed can enforce whatever points you might have, but I'll keep an open mind.
I don't think we would have witnessed such a cracker (and the earlier el clasico this season) had Mourinho been in charge of Real Madrid, based on the evidence of events during his time in charge there, Madrid's general standard of excellence since his exit and the general atmosphere around el clasico confrontations despite the evident physicalities.
For my part, I should have written that he polluted Real Madrid, not the league, but (to some extent) that does stretch to Real Madrid polluting the league with the league's highlight derby game being affected in negative ways, on and off the pitch, not seen since his departure.
It's not just about what you refer to as the 'occasional misdemeanor' on the sidelines.
The opinion that he polluted Real Madrid is a widely enough held considered opinion, well documented. Even the exact word "polluted" is oft used to describe his effect. There were the fall outs with players, his perception of public humiliation re the Ramos incident, his paranoid and destructive responses to the humiliation, his response to Madrid legend Cassillas' attempts to reforge relationship in the national team. All in all, the antics of a classic chronic narcissist, weaving destruction in the environment in one of the top elite few clubs in the world.
The earlier El Clasico was far from a cracker though I thought. It was a pretty drab game with an exciting climax. There were plenty of El Clasico's of that sort (or better) during Mourinho's reign.
Mourinho is a pragmatic manager, he'll set him team up depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition. Personally I love it and find it fascinating, although I couldn't defend some of his other antics over the years. Things unravelled badly at Madrid but his first two years there were a relative success, especially bearing in mind they were competing with one of the best sides ever at the peak of their powers, or close enough. They knew what they were getting when they appointed him so I think this talk of him embarrassing the club and such is a bit rich, which we've heard plenty of times since his departure.
It's easy to forget (or ignore) the exciting brand of football his team played for the most part while he was there. They had an incredible season in 2011/12, setting records all over the place, including a La Liga goalscoring high, yet he'll always be painted as a defensive minded coach regardless of what actually happens on the pitch. His Real side got tanked 5-0 by Barca early in his tenure, he was always going to try to implement a game plan to stifle them after that, as any proper manager would.
Last edited by DeLorean; 26/04/2017 at 2:39 PM.
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